Cementitious construction materials, which are cement-containing or cement-like materials, are attractive for building and wall construction as such materials possess several advantageous properties. For example, cementitious materials are inherently strong and corrosion resistant. Concrete consists of a mixture of sand, aggregates (e.g., gravel, pebbles, etc.), and a cement paste composed of water and cement which is a binder that hydrates in the presence of water to form a non-water-soluble mineral that holds the aggregate of the concrete together. A concrete material that does not include coarse aggregate but contains only sand is called a mortar. A common type of cement is Portland cement which undergoes a chemical reaction in the presence of water that causes the cement to cure and harden. Specially formulated cementitious composites can be formulated to have higher strength properties and expanded applications compared with traditional Portland cement-based construction materials. For example, certain hybrid polymer/cement composites may be more cohesive and self-supporting than traditional Portland cement-based concretes and mortars.
Current methods for molding concrete walls involves pouring a slurry of paste and aggregate (or a slurry of cement paste alone) into a water-tight form in the shape of the desired wall. The cementitious material is then permitted to cure and harden by reaction with water, and the form is removed to provide a self-supporting wall. Other methods of fabricating cementitious-based columns involve feeding cementitious material into a vertically-movable form which moves upward and molds the cementitious material into a single column as it cures (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,894,676).
While effective, such methods, including the fabrication and use of the water-tight form, may be labor intensive and inefficient. Additional improved methods of fabricating cementitious material-based walls are still wanting. For example, it may be desirable to readily impart strength, ventilation, or even aesthetic properties into cementitious material-based walls using more efficient techniques. The present disclosure addresses these problems.